Apparatus for treating liquids



Nov. 5, 1940. A. PLACEK APPARATUS FOR TREATING LIQUIDS F" led .July 19,1957 N RN I Patented Nov. 5, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT (V-OFFICE.

APPARATUS Foa maarmo LIQUID Adolph Placek, Philadelphia, in. ApplicationJuly 19, 1931, Serial No. 154,524

3 Claims. (01. 201-90) The invention relates to new and usefulimprovements in an apparatus for emciently treating liquids with agaseous medium.

An object of the invention is to provide an apparatus which is simple inconstruction and which provides for the continuous flow of the liquid tobe treated through the apparatus by the action of centrifugal forcethereon, and also a continuous new of a gaseous medium for treating theliquid in a counter-current direction, and wherein means is provided forbreaking the flow of the liquid into flowing films and flowing sprays.

Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of the abovetype which includes a rotating drum, provided with means at the centerthereof for receiving the liquid to be treated, and provided with meansfor introducing the treating gaseous medium to said drum at theperiphery thereof under conditions which will cause said gaseous mediumto flow in a counter direction to the flow of the liquid, and whereinsaid drum is provided with means for breaking the flow of the liquidinto portions consisting of flowing sprays and flowing films.

Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of the abovetype wherein the means for breaking the flow of the liquid is in theform of spaced parallel circular plates provided with concentrically andcircumferentially corrugated surfaces, these plates being placed withinthe mentioned drum perpendicularly and concentrically with reference tothe axis of rotation of said drum.

Another object of the invention is to provide said corrugated plateswith perforations to effect a further distribution of the liquid intosprays.

A still further object of the invention is to pro- I vide said casingwith an inlet for the gaseous medium, this inlet being directedtangentially with reference to the periphery of the drum, this peripherybeing provided with vanes for propelling said drum by incoming gaseousmedium.

These and other objects will in part be obvious and will in part behereinafter more fully disclosed.

In the drawing which illustrates by way of example, the principle of theinvention- Figure 1 is a vertical section through an apparatusconstructed in accordance with the invention on the line l-l of Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is a similar view taken substantially on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1,and

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view through the walls of the apparatusshowing more clearly the arrangement of theperforations therethrough. v

' The apparatus includes a stationary annular casing l in which isjournaled a rotatable drum 2. Between the drum and the casing is ahydraulic seal. In the present embodiment of the invention, thishydraulic seal is accomplished by means of annular plates 3, 3 attachedto the casing I, each plate having a flange 4 extending outwardly and ina direction at right angles to the axis of rotation of the drum. Thedrum includes outer plates 5 and 6, and said outer plates, as shown, areextended laterally as indicated at I, I, and thence bent inwardly asindicated at 8, 8.

' This forms a channel into which the flanges 4, 4

extend. A fluid is placed in the channel and this serves to establish anhydraulic seal between the drum and the casing. The plates 5 and 6 formthe walls of the drum. These plates are corrugated so as to provideannular corrugations merging one into the other, so that in radial crosssection, the wall is sinuous and curves first in one diretcion and thenthe other, with one curve leading into the other. These walls 5 and 6,as shown more clearly in Figure 3, are solid. and imperforate.

As shown in the present embodiment of the invention, there areintermediate walls ill and H located intermediate the walls 5 and 6.These walls l0 and il are likewise formed of thin sheet metal plate andare corrugated so as to provide surfaces which are similarly shaped, tothe sur faces of the walls 5 and 6. These intermediate walls In and llare formed with small perforations therethrough as indicated at l2 inFigure 3. The walls are spaced from each other by rods l3. As shown,there are six rods arranged radially of the drum. and these rods arecurved to conform to the shaping of the walls. The rods are of uniformthickness, and this provides a space of uniwalls and firmly clamp theplates against these spacing rods. Other means, of course, may be usedfor spacing the walls. It is desirable that the walls shall be uniformlyspaced and that there shall be a free passage from the center of thecasing to the outer periphery of the drum.

The plate 5 constituting one wall of the drum is rigidly secured to ashaft l5 mounted in bearings l6, IS in a suitable frame. There are twospaced bearings, and these serve to support the shaft so that it willrotate about a fixed axis. Intermediate the bearings l6, I8 is a pulleyll by which the shaft may bedriven. Inasmuch as the plate l constitutingthe other outer wall and .the intermediate plates are all bolted to theplate 5. this produces a rigid drum structure supported by the shaft'liand rotated thereby. The plate 8 has a pipe 18 secured thereto, and thispipe is connected to a stationarypipe I! by means of extends through thepipe is and is connected thereto by a suitable stuffing box 22, whichpipe enters the, center of the drum and serves as a means for deliveringthe liquid to be treated to of perforations 23 and the inner end of thepipe is closed so that the liquid will be delivered into the drum inrelatively fine streams. There is a pipe 24 attached to the casing Iwhich serves to draw oil the treated liquid. This pipe 24 is arrangedtangentially to the casing and at the low point of the casing so thatthe fluid thrown against the wall of the casing by centrifugal forcewill collect at the bottom of the casing and be forced into the pipe 24.There is a control valve 25 for this pipe. The gaseous medium fortreating the liquid is delivered to the casing by means of a pipe 26having a control valve 21. .This

pipe is arranged tangentially to the casing, and the gas is admittedthrough this pipe 28 under pressure. I

Located between the plates 5, 6 are vanes 28 which are so disposed thatthe gas under pressure entering the casing from the pipe 26 strikesthese.

vanes and assists in the rotation of the drum.

The drum with its corrugated plates is rotated at a high velocity. Theliquid medium to be treated is passed into the apparatus through thepipe 2| and is distributed on to the plates of the rotating drum. Thecentrifugal force incident to the rapid rotation of the drum causes theliquid to spread into films on the surface of the plates 5, 8, l0 andII, and the liquid will be caused to flow toward the outer periphery ofthe drum. The liquid will flow along the surfaces of the plates in film,and at the turning points of the corrugations will leave the surface insprays in a paraboloid motion to the internal surface. Said liquid willalso fiow along the surfaces of the intermediate plates or walls in thesame manner, leaving said surfaces in the form of sprays and some of theliquid will pass through the perforations to the other surface of theplate and in sprays cross to the opposite plate. The liquid when itreaches the periphery of the drum is collected in the stationary casingl and withdrawn therefrom through the drain pipe 24. The vapor or othergaseous medium which is introduced into the casing through the pipe 26flows under pressure in a counter-current direction to the fiow of theliquid. This gaseous medium will divide into layers and pass in awave-like motion between the plates from the periphery thereof to thecenter of the drum. The wall of each layer is determined by the surfaceof the plates between which the layer of gas is passing. At the centerof the drum, the gaseous medium is taken off through the pipe is and thepipe l9.

This dividing of the gaseous medium into layers having a wave-likemotion and the distributing of the liquid into films contacting with thesurface of the layers of gaseous medium and into sprays traversing saidsprays of gaseous med u brings about a very eiiicient contact betweenthe gaseous medium and the liquid to be treated. The liquid not onlyflows along the surface of the layers of the gas, but as noted above,will separate from the plates in sprays, crossing a layer, and will passfrom one layer into the next adjacent layer. Such a treating of liquidsby gaseous medium is only possible when the gaseous medium is in awave-like motion, and the liquid is forced to partly flow longitudinallyand partly transversely to the direction of said wave-like motion, andalso partly in films contacting with the surfaces of the wave-likemoving layers of gaseous medium and partly in sprays crossing saidlayers.

While the drum is shown as rotating about a horizontal axis, it will beunderstood that the axis may be vertical or otherwise arranged withoutaffecting the operation of the apparatus and the carrying out of theprocess.

It is obvious that many changes in the details of construction of theapparatus may be made without departing from the spirit of the inventionas set forth in the appended claims, and that the process may be carriedout in other forms of apparatus than in the one illustrated.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. An apparatus for treating liquids with a gaseous medium comprising arotatable drum, means for supplying the liquid to be treated to saiddrum centrally thereof whereby it is carried through and discharged atthe periphery of the drum by centrifugal force, means for supplying thegaseous treating medium under pressure at the periphery of the drum andfor removing the same at the center of the drum, said drum includingouter walls having annular. corrugations and intermediate walls havingannular corrugations, all of said corrugations being concentric to theaxis of rotation and similarly shaped and disposed so that in radialcross section through the drum the walls are wavelike, curving first inone direction and then the other from the center of the drum to theperiphery thereof, said intermediate walls having small perforationstherethrough through which the liquid fiowing in films along the surfaceof the intermediate walls will pass through said walls.

2. An apparatus for treating liquids with a gaseous medium comprising arotatable drum provided at its periphery with propelling vanes, meansfor supplying the liquid to be treated to said drum centrally thereofwhereby it is carried through and discharged at the periphery of thedrum by centrifugal force, and means for introducing the gaseoustreating medium under pressure in tangential direction to the peripheryof the drum and removing the same at the center of the drum, said drumincluding outer walls having annular carrugations and intermediate wallshaving annular corrugations, all of said corrugations being similarlyshaped and disposed so that in radial cross section through the drumsthe walls are wavelike, curving first in one direction and then theother from the center of the drum to the periphery thereof.

3. An apparatus for treating liquids with a gaseous medium comprising arotatable drum provided at its periphery with propelling vanes, meansfor supplying the liquid to be treated to said drum centrally thereofwhereby it is carried through and discharged at the periphery of thedrum by centrifugal force, and means for introducing the gaseoustreating medium under pressure in tangential direction to the peripheryof the drum and removing the same at the center of the drum, said drumincluding outer walls having annular corrugations and intermediate wallshaving annular corrugations, all of said corrugations being similarlyshaped and disposed so that in radial cross section through the drumsthrough which the liquid flowing in films along the surface of theintermediate walls will passthrough said walls.

ADOLPH PLACEK.

